Model for Breast Cancer Rehabilitation Featured in American Cancer Society Journal

Friday, April 13, 2012

Model for Breast Cancer Rehabilitation Featured in American Cancer Society Journal

The Prospective Surveillance Model, an innovative new model of breast cancer rehabilitation, is featured in a special supplement to the American Cancer Society's journal Cancer, released April 6. APTA members Nicole L. Stout, PT, MPT, CLT-LANA, and Jill Binkley, PT, MClSc, CLT, were among a panel of internationally known experts who developed the model over the past year.

The goal of the Prospective Surveillance Model for cancer rehabilitation is to identify impairment at the earliest onset, to alleviate impairment, or prevent it from progressing. Soon after diagnosis, a physical therapist will perform a preoperative examination to establish a baseline level of function. Follow-up examinations are then conducted postoperatively at 1 month and then 3-month intervals, for up to 1 year.

The panel of experts and national organizations involved in developing the model will continue to raise awareness about the model, with the goal of increasing the number of women who receive rehabilitation and exercise in order to maximize quality of life for the 1 in 8 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Read more about the model in APTA's press release or view the supplement online. The study, Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema: Comparing Direct Costs of a Prospective Surveillance Model and a Traditional Model of Care, led by Stout, was published in the January issue of PTJ. Hear Stout describe the model in this APTA video.

Comments

I think this is a great step forward for treatment - but how would it be billed or paid for? If we check q 3 months for lymphedema and they don't have any signs/symptoms will insurance still cover repeated surveillance?

Posted by Megan Webster
on 4/13/2012 11:07 PM

You mention diagnosis as the trigger for baseline exam & surgery as the trigger for 12 month follow-up. However, I see no mention of rehab when radiation is involved & I'm curious why. As a survivor who had several surgeries, chemo & radiation, I found the radiation to have the most noticeable & longest lasting impact, although the negative effects didn't appear until ~ 3 months post-rad. I don't think my experience is unusual.